Pakistani authorities say that more than 100 insurgents have been killed in Balochistan province over the past week as security forces intensify a large-scale campaign against the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA [6]) and other militant groups. The campaign, dubbed Operation Shaban, was launched on July 7 after a series of attacks on security personnel. The army, Frontier Corps and Balochistan Police have been deployed in coordinated aerial and ground assaults across the province.
Official statements refered to the militants as "kharji terrorists," a reference to a medieval heresy [8] in Islam, and a term usually applied to the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP [9]). (First Post [10], Arab News [11])
